HOW DID YOU MISS THIS, MINISTER?

Posted by Kim Carr5sc on April 28, 2016

Reports today of training colleges signing up over 90 per cent of students to online double diplomas, utilising millions of VET FEE-HELP student loan funding, and millions of dollars being paid to brokers to target vulnerable students are yet another example of the Liberal Government’s mismanagement of the VET FEE-HELP system which has resulted in billions of taxpayer funds being wasted.

Senator Scott Ryan, Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, needs to immediately come clean about just how bad this situation really is rather than this shocking information being dribbled out in investigative report after investigative report.

How many colleges have shockingly high percentages of students being signed up to double degrees?

How many colleges have shockingly low completion rates?

How many colleges paid brokers alarmingly high rates to target vulnerable students?

How much taxpayer funding has benne wasted in lining the pockets of brokers?

Why didn’t he, or one of his many predecessors, pick this up? Were the Liberals asleep at the wheel?

If the Minister is serious about stopping the waste he can immediately put in place Labor’s strong and sensible policy proposals including:

A VET Ombudsman

A cap on course fees

A lower cap on VET FEE-HELP loans

A ban or restriction on the use of brokers

Ensuring loan applications for students would be handled by the Department of Education and Training rather than a private college or broker

Just how much of taxpayers money needs to be wasted before the Abbott/Turnbull Liberals decide to act?